𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐳𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞

prologue

unedited

Cassiopeia was at an utter loss as she walked down the boardwalk of St. George Island. The tears streaking down her face seemed to be endless as she pondered over her thoughts. She was miserable, genuinely fearing for herself; she had no idea what she'd do now. Receiving the news that the coffee shop would be closing for good was ruining her, ripping her apart second by second. It was up in the air for some time and just before Cassiopeia left the shop today, Autry and Archer confirmed the bitter news.

I'd have to give up my dainty loft and take off a semester or two, the thought came across her mind painfully. The coffee shop had given her an ideal life being that it was a high-class eatery - she was able to pay for her little loft. And she was able to help her family, even just a little, pay the excessive medical bills that came with her younger brother's AVM.

But now it was being stripped from her, much like every ounce of happiness she had felt just hours ago; merely because the shop was not only the source of Cassiopeia's income but her happiness as well. Carousels and Dinges, the said coffeehouse, was the foundation of Cassiopeia's university days.

She could vividly recall the day two years ago she exchanged tearful goodbyes with her mama, papa, and brother as she got ready to leave them. From Fort Lauderdale to Florida State in Tallahassee, the nine-hour drive was not enough to stop Cassiopeia's tears. She had left her family, her home, the remnants of what Ansel and she once were. She was leaving behind the life she once knew, entering another, and becoming a diffident version of herself. Cassiopeia had been lonely alone, on her own, thrown into a world of harsh realities, a world where dreams ceased to exist. She was dared to start anew.

And start anew is what she did.

Thus the beginning of Cassiopeia and Carousels and Dinges.

— flashback —

In a tired haze and desperate need of freshly brewed tea - her symptoms of driving for hours on end - Cassiopeia pulled into the very first café her eyes fell upon in the foreign city of Tallahassee.

"I need an orange chamomile tea," she murmured, sighing tiredly as she situated herself on a barstool against the counter. Upon entering the café, Cassiopeia was amazed and entranced, and once seated, she took it upon herself to glance around, ultimately falling in love with the retro vintage-themed shop.

The shop was much like 17th Ave McDonald's in Calgary. She remembered visiting the shop with her family and Ansel two summers ago; Carousels and Dinges sent her down a nostalgic forest road.

The sides were lined with red and mint booths whilst the window panes of the very front of the shop were lined with teal metal wired bistro sets on either side. The aesthetic of the shop screamed 'special' with the fluorescent neon signs, the fluorescent neon lights lining the ceilings, and the shop's vibrant colors. The shop called Cassiopeia's name with its checkered pattern counters, the red lamps hanging from the ceiling in every booth, and the jukebox sitting cozily in the back corner. The glass-paned windows serving as walls for three sides of the shop gave the perfect view of the unique life of downtown Tallahassee. It immediately just felt like home to Cassiopeia and she wouldn't have it any other way.

— flashback fin —

The memory collapsed in her head before she could continue reminiscing and like the waves roughly crashing against the shore, Cassiopeia was raucously brought back to her current reality. As she wandered around, she continued musing over her choices. She couldn't even call her best friend - best friend? Is he still my best friend?